Life-preserver.



H. PASGHKE. LIFE PRBSERVBB;

APPLIOATION IILED MAR. 20, 1909.

I Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

TORNEY 4 COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH c0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT PASCHKE, OF NEW YORK, N Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE LANE &. DE GROOT COM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION.

LIFE-PRESERVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. March 20, 1909.

Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

Serial N 0. 484,638.

To all whom it ma y concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT PASCHKE, of the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Preservers, of

which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is primarily to construct a life preserver of the usual or standard type i. e. surrounding the trunk of the wearer as a belt, which may be made of the required length and which will notwithstanding fit snugly to persons of different sizes. A great disadvantage of life preservers, as ordinarily constructed, is that in the case of slender persons life preservers fit very loosely, and it is diflicult, if not impossible, to keep them properly in position of the wearer.

' My invention involves other features of importance, all of which will be fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is now had to the accompanying drawings, which represent as an example the two preferred forms into which my invention may be practically embodied.

In these drawings,Figure 1 is a front view of the life preserver in position on the wearer. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same, showing the loose section folded or crumpled to "suit the device to the particular person to which it is applied. Fig. 3 is a view of the life preserver spread out fiat, and Fig. A is a similar view of a slight modification.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the life preserver, as here shown, is composed of buoyant blocks of wood, cork or other suitable material, these blocks incased in a suitable canvas covering. As here shown, there are siX such blocks a and at. These blocks are arranged in -two groups of three each, and of such blocks, members a are shorter than the members a, for the purpose of accommodating the arms of the wearer, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The two groups of blocks a and a are separated from each other by a loose section or flap 6, which is preferably a part of the can vas casing inclosing the blocks. In the preferred construction this flap is formed by bringing together the sides of the canvas casing and stitching or otherwise securing them together, so that the flap, or loose section, may readily fold or crumple according to the size of the wearer, as will hereinafter appear.

Each of the two groups of blocks a and a is provided with a shoulder strap 0 for sup porting the life preserver on the wearer and preferably as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, one of these straps is provided at the front with the cross strap cl adapted to engage a button or other fastening on the other strap to prevent the shoulder straps from falling over the shoulders. The life belt or preserver is adapted to be encircled by a strap 6 which coacts with the loose section or flap 6. As shown in Fig. 8, the strap 6 is fastened to the middle of flap 1) by stitching as at e, and the end portions of the strap passed loosely through guides f, of which there is one for each group" of blocks a and a; preferably these guides f are in the form of tape stitched to the canvas casing at the points of the short blocks a.

In the use of the invention the straps are thrown over the shoulders, and the life preserver made to encircle the trunk of the wearer under the arms. The flap b is at the back, and the ends of the strap 6 are brought around to the front and knotted as shown in Fig. 1. When the strap e is drawn tightly around the casing and the blocks inclosed therein, the flap 1; is caused to adjust itself automatically to the girth of the wearer. If the wearer is slender, the flap will crumple and the blocks at the rear will closely approach each other. On the other hand, if the wearer is corpulent the flap will tend to straighten out and the blocks at the back will separate more or less widely. Irrespective of the size of the wearer, the life preserver will be held snugly against the trunk and all loose movement prevented.

Various modifications in the details of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the essential principle thereof. Thus, instead of making the strap 6 in one section it may be made in two, as indicated at e in Fig. 4:- These sections 6 have their rear ends over-lapped and stitched to opposite sides of the loose flap 6 or to the casing inclosing the blocks a and a adjacent to the flap. The result of this construction is the same as that previously described; the straps draw the blocks tightly against the body of the wearer and the flap or section Z) automatically accommodates itself to the size of such body.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. A life preserver formed of two buoyant sections connected together by a foldable section adapted to be disposed at the back of the wearer, each of said buoyant sections being formed of a plurality of blocks or sub-sections flexibly connected together, a pair of shoulder straps each extending from the upper edge of one block to the upper edge of another block of the same section, means connecting said straps and means encircling the life preserver to draw it snugly against the wearer, whereby the foldable section automatically adapts itself to the size of the wearer and the life preserver is made to fit persons of different girth measurement.

2. A life preserver formed of two buoyant sections connected together by a foldable section adapted to be disposed at the back of .the wearer, each of said buoyant sections being formed of three blocks or sub-sections flexibly connected together, the center of said sub-sections being of shorter length than the terminal sub-sections, a pair of shoulder straps each extending from the upper edge of one terminal sub-section to the upper edge of the other terminal sub-sec tion of the same section, means for detachably connecting said straps, guides carried by said intermediate sub-section and a strap secured to said foldable section and slidable through said guides, whereby upon the securing together of the ends of the last mentioned strap the foldable section automatically adapts itself to the-size of the wearer.

3. A life preserver formed of two buoyant sections connected together by a foldable section adapted to be disposed at the back of the wearer, each of said buoyant sections being formed by a plurality of blocks or subsections flexibly connected together, a pair of shoulder straps each extending from the upper edge of one block to the upper edge of another block of the same section, and a fastening strap secured to said foldable section and having sliding engagement with certain of said buoyant sections and adapted to be secured in front of the wearer whereby the foldable section automatically adapts itself to the size of the wearer and the life preserver is made to fit persons of different girth measurement.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERBERT PASCHKE.

lVitnesses Isaac B. OWENS, B. BIGGE,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. 0. 

